“What Minimalism is really about is reassessment of your priorities so that you can strip away the excess stuff—the possessions and ideas and relationships and activities—that don’t bring value to your life.”
I’m sick of wondering what I could accomplish if I cut down on Facebook and Twitter, stopped worrying about menial things, and streamlined my time and resources. And so I’m turning to Colin Wright’s Exile Lifestyle for guidance.
His recent post, Minimalism Explained, is stripped to just several high-quality necessities (paralleling the mere 51 items he owns). It’s descriptive enough to get you revved up about refining your priorities, yet short enough to hang on your wall for reference. Here are some key takeaways:
“It’s important to understand that the reduction of physical possessions is often a RESULT of Minimalism, not Minimalism itself.”
This actually makes Minimalism more difficult—you can’t achieve the zen by cleaning out your closet. Minimalism requires a deep examination of your mess of half-assed commitments. It can be even require the discipline to (gasp) deactivate your Facebook account.
“When I started deep-diving into my real hopes and dreams, I realized it was time to refocus and reposition myself that I would be able to fully invest in my passions.”
For this to work, we need to brutally honest with ourselves, even if it reveals we’re not “normal.” (Though who wants to be?) Colin left his stable life in LA and now moves every four months in order to satisfy his cravings for adventure.
My current goals are aligned with self-discovery and developing skills. I’d rather take photographs in a new San Francisco neighborhood alone than spend the afternoon watching OnDemand shows with my roommates. I’d rather spend the night drawing a card for someone than going to another generic bar. “Normal”? Maybe not, but this awareness will help me prioritize my time and feel more fulfilled.
“What’s nice about being a Minimalist is that all those freed-up resources can be reapplied to those areas of your life that you care about.”
We have a huge, ancient TV that was left behind by previous tenants. It works fine but isn’t attractive, so I kept pushing my roommates to buy a new one—until I read Colin’s blog post. I feel that most TV shows represent a massive waste of time. I’d rather reallocate that money to these markers I’ve wanted forever.
I’m going to make a definitive list of what really makes me tick and what’s sucking up resources without positively impacting my life. Can you imagine what’d we’d be capable of if we weren’t plagued with less-than-important distractions?
It’s time to find out.
